Google Pixel 9a Screen Replacement

Written By: Spencer Day

Comments: 2

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

This repair guide was authored by the iFixit staff and hasn’t been endorsed by Google. Learn more about our repair guides here.

Follow this guide to replace a cracked, broken or non‑responsive screen on your Google Pixel 9a smartphone.

If your screen doesn't come with adhesive pre‑installed, you'll need replacement screen adhesive to complete this repair.

Note: Any repair can compromise the water resistance of your phone. Retaining water resistance after the repair depends on how accurately the new adhesives are applied and how clean the mating surfaces are.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Let your Pixel's battery drain below 25% before starting this repair. A charged lithium‑ion battery may catch fire if damaged.
Unplug all cables and completely power down your phone.

Step 2

Glass shards can complicate disassembly—or worse, cause injury. If your phone has a cracked screen, follow these steps:
Apply overlapping strips of packing tape to the cracked glass until the whole screen is covered—this will allow the suction cup to stick to the screen.
Only cover the glass itself—don't stick any tape to the frame.
Consider wearing safety glasses to protect your eyes from any glass shaken free during the repair.

Step 3

The screen adhesive is very strong, requiring significant heat to soften it. If you have difficulty separating the adhesive, reheat the screen and try again.
Use a hair dryer, heat gun, or hot mat to heat the top edge of the screen until it's almost too hot to touch.
Be careful not to overheat the phone—the battery and plastic components are susceptible to heat damage. Stop heating if the frame becomes too hot to touch.
If you're using a hot mat, set it to 80° C (176° F) and place your phone screen side down for 10 minutes.

Step 4

Apply a suction handle to the center of the screen's top edge.

Step 5

Don't insert any tools deeper than 2 mm, or you may damage the front camera.
Insert the tip of a Jimmy downward into the speaker cutout on the top edge of your phone.
If you don't have a Jimmy, you can use another small metal tool. Make sure it's thin and rigid.
Pull up on the suction handle with strong, steady force while lowering the Jimmy until it slides under the screen.
Inserting your tool is very difficult. Reheat the screen at any point and try again if it feels stuck.

Step 6

Slide the tip of an opening pick under the screen into the gap created by the Jimmy.
Remove the Jimmy.

Step 7

Remember: Don't insert your pick deeper than 2 mm, or you may damage the front camera.
Slide your opening pick along the top edge of the screen to separate the adhesive securing it.
Leave the pick inserted under the top right corner of the screen to prevent the adhesive from re‑sealing.

Step 8

Use the small tab to remove the suction handle from the screen.

Step 9

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to heat the right edge of the screen.

Step 10

Slide your opening pick down the right edge to separate the adhesive securing it.
Leave the pick inserted under the bottom right corner of the screen to prevent the adhesive from re‑sealing.

Step 11

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to heat the bottom edge of the screen.

Step 12

Slide your opening pick along the bottom edge of the screen to separate the adhesive securing it.
Leave the pick inserted under the bottom left corner of the screen to prevent the adhesive from re‑sealing.

Step 13

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to heat the left edge of the screen.

Step 14

Be careful not to insert your pick too far near the center of the left edge, or you may damage the screen cable.
Slide your opening pick up the left edge to separate the adhesive securing it.

Step 15

Swing the screen over the left edge of your phone (like opening the cover of a book) and lay it down flat.
If you feel resistance when lifting the screen, use an opening pick to separate any leftover adhesive.

Step 16

The battery is exposed through a small cutout near the screen cable. Be very careful not to damage it with your tools.
Use a Torx Plus 3IP screwdriver to remove the 1.7 mm‑long screw securing the cable cover screw.

Step 17

Use tweezers or your fingers to lift and remove the cable cover.

Step 18

Remember: The battery is exposed through a small cutout near the screen cable. Be very careful not to damage it with your tool.
Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the screen press connector from its top left corner.

Step 19

Remove the screen.

Step 20

Congratulations on completing disassembly! The remaining steps will show how to reassemble your phone.

Step 21

Take your time during this step. A clean frame allows replacement adhesive to lay totally flat, ensuring a better bond.
Use a spudger and tweezers to scrape up and remove any screen adhesive from the perimeter of the frame.
Most of the adhesive should have stayed on the screen during removal, so there may not be any adhesive to remove.
Using some high‑concentration (>90%) isopropyl alcohol and a lint‑free cloth (or coffee filter), clean the areas of the frame where the adhesive was.
Be careful not to damage the silver foam pads around the perimeter of the phone.
Wait for any alcohol to dry completely before continuing.

Step 22

Check if your replacement screen comes with adhesive pre‑installed around its perimeter. If it does, skip down six steps. If it doesn't, follow the next six steps to install new screen adhesive on the frame.
Before applying the screen adhesive, make sure you know how it will sit on the frame. If you apply the adhesive incorrectly, you'll need to restart with new adhesive.
Hold the adhesive above the frame to find its orientation. Use cutouts in the liner to help visualize how it will lay in the frame.

Where to find such an adhesive film as none was delivered with my replacement screen?

Julien Chevalier -

Step 23

Peel down the top half of the large, clear liner to expose the adhesive—don't fully remove the liner yet.

Step 24

Take your time aligning the adhesive with the frame—it's very sticky and can't be moved after you apply it.
With the larger, clear liner folded towards the bottom of the phone, lay the exposed top edge of the adhesive onto the frame.
Use the lip of the frame to help align the adhesive.
Once the top edge is properly aligned, gently press down on the top corners with your fingers to secure the adhesive.

Step 25

Slowly lay the rest of the adhesive onto the frame, pressing it into place and peeling away the larger liner as you go.

Step 26

Use the pull tab to remove the large, colored liner.

Step 27

Use a spudger to press down firmly on the screen adhesive around the perimeter of your phone to secure it to the frame.

Step 28

Your replacement screen has various protective liners and pieces of tape on the underside that must be removed before installing the screen. Your screen may have different pieces in different locations, so make sure to check carefully!
Tape may be covering the front camera and holding the screen cable in place.
There may be multiple protective liners covering the bottom of the screen.
Do not remove any of the liners from the screen adhesive around the perimeter yet.

Step 29

Use your fingers to carefully remove any tape from the front camera cutout and screen cable.
If there's tape covering the top of the connector, use tweezers to remove it. Be careful not to pull on or tear the screen cable.

Step 30

Carefully remove any liners covering the bottom of the screen.
The exposed copper underside of your Pixel's screen is very fragile. Even a small scratch or dent can damage the screen underneath. Be very careful not to touch it with your tools during the remainder of your repair.

Step 31

Carefully lay your replacement screen display‑side‑down just to the left of your phone so you can reconnect the cable.

Step 32

Align the screen press connector over its socket and gently press down with your finger—first on one of the short sides, then on the other—until the connector clicks into place.
Now is a good time to test your phone before sealing it up. Power it on and check that it works. Power it back down before you continue reassembly.

Step 33

Hook the bottom edge of the screen cable cover into its cutout and lay the cover into place.

Step 34

Remember: The battery is exposed through a small cutout near the screen cable. Be very careful not to damage it with your tools.
Use a Torx Plus 3IP screwdriver to install the 1.7 mm‑long screw securing the cover.

Step 35

Use tweezers or your fingers to remove the final adhesive liner from the perimeter of the screen.
If you applied adhesive directly to the frame, remove that remaining liner, holding the screen up out of the way as necessary, without straining the cable.
If the adhesive starts to peel up with the liner, check that you’ve pushed all of it into place with your spudger. If it continues to peel up, hold it down with the point of your spudger as you go.

Step 36

Carefully flip the screen over and align it over the frame.
Double check that the screen is aligned properly before pressing it into place, otherwise you may damage the screen through the copper backing.
Once aligned, press the screen into the frame.

Step 37

Firmly press around the perimeter of the screen to secure the adhesive.
You can also hold your phone up and squeeze firmly around the perimeter to strengthen the adhesive bond. For an even more secure bond, lay your phone screen-down on a clean and flat surface underneath a few books overnight.
When powering on your phone for the first time:
Lay the phone camera-side down on a clean, flat surface. Remove the plastic liner from the screen, making sure nothing touches the phone while you do so (fingers, screen protectors, or cases).
To calibrate the display’s fingerprint reader, use Google’s Pixel Update and Software Repair tool.

What does "camera-side down" mean? Both sides of the phone have a camera. I assume this is supposed to mean "screen-side up", but that's not clear to me from the context.

Evan O -